Authors : Aury Stella Alvarez-Cordero, Yuranis De Avila Alvis, Maria Ortiz-Rincon, Angel Dario Gonzalez-Delgado and Yeimmy Yolima Peralta-Ruiz
Abstract: The environmental assessment of a process allows detection of improvement areas from environmental point of view, serving as a tool for making decision and quantification of environmental benefits for a raw material transformation into a final product. This research presents an environmental assessment of a crude palm and crude palm kernel oil production process located in the North-Colombian Region using the software WAR GUI based on the Waste Reduction Algorithm (WAR) to evaluate 8 impact categories classified into two major groups: Local Toxicological Impacts on Humans (HTPI, HTPE) and Ecological (ATP and TTP) and Global (GWP and ODP) and Regional (AP and PCOP) atmospheric impacts. Results shows that in general terms, the process is environmentally friendly which is reflected in negative values obtained for the PEI generated due to products obtained are used for human consumption after refinement. In addition, atmospheric impact categories are not affected due to waste gases emitted from the process are mostly steam from sub-processes such as drying. Finally, if energy improvements are implemented by using the heat of gases emitted into the atmosphere, these values may decrease.
Aury Stella Alvarez-Cordero, Yuranis De Avila Alvis, Maria Ortiz-Rincon, Angel Dario Gonzalez-Delgado and Yeimmy Yolima Peralta-Ruiz, 2017. Environmental Assessment of Dual Crude Palm and Kernel Oil Production in North-Colombia using WAR Algorithm. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 12: 7265-7271.